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Wednesday, 28 February 2007

THE CONCLUSION ... is that, due to an emerging leadership vacuum, the Islamic regime of Iran is marching toward a historic crossroads, with substantial risks and instability.

One may also conclude that the recent military power moves directed by the American president, as minimal as they are, are starting to have an affect. The West must act now, with full force and vigor, and for the sake of world peace, so as not to miss the narrow window of opportunity and further destabilize this critically dangerous regime.

Read it all... by "John Samson," the pseudonym of an Iranian scientist now in exile.

.... I've long contemplated visiting Jonathan Pollard. I had come across a press release reporting that Pollard, very ill, was about to "celebrate" his twenty-second year in jail. I reached out to Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, who has distinguished himself by supporting Jonathan Pollard in a myriad of ways for the last decade or more, and asked him to arrange for me a visit with Pollard…. The day arrived.

While not usually at a loss for words, I wondered: how does one offer verbal chizuk to someone who has endured, is enduring, and is destined to continue to endure the shiva medurei Geihinnom (seven levels of Geihinnom) [hell] each and every day? His first seven years were spent in the infamous maximum security facility, the USP Marion, including four years in solitary confinement, several levels below ground. [J4JP: Jonathan spent most of the first 7 years in solitary confinement, not 4 years!] Then, in 1993, he was transferred to the Butner Federal Correctional Facility near Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, where he remains today.

I agonized for nothing. I traveled to Butner to give chizuk [strength] and instead received chizuk. Jonathan Pollard is an amazing individual with an insatiable appetite for life. He is strong and upbeat despite his predicament, and has an unimaginable level of bitachon .

To live and walk around in a place that is home to some of "the worst violent criminals in the United States" with a yarmulka on his head and tzitzis on his body is not only unbelievable, it is heroic. His pride in being a Jew and his love for Eretz Yisroel are simply inspiring.

He shared with me his close personal relationship with the late, unforgettable Torah leader, Rabbi Moshe Sherer z"l, who, for a period, spoke to him on the telephone very often. When Jonathan called, Rabbi Sherer always took the telephone. Rabbi Sherer once said to him, "Jonathan, I want you to promise me three things. You will keep Shabbos, eat only kosher, and never grow to hate Hakadosh Baruch Hu, despite whatever happens to you."

I asked Jonathan Pollard, "If Rabbi Sherer were to walk into this room right now, what would you say to him?"

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I would say, 'Rabbi Sherer, I kept my promise to you on all three.'"

[....]

I asked him how he manages to fulfill the three promises he made to Rabbi Sherer years ago in this place that the inmates refer to as "hell on earth." He explained each point with clarity and commitment, reflecting great courage.

Being a person of superior intellect (as is obvious after just a few minutes of conversation), he was selected to head the administration in the prison factory where many of the inmates work each day. That type of work (the most respectable job in the institution), however, would not allow him to avoid chillul [desecration of] Shabbos and Yom Tov, and would also force him to interact with the fellow inmates on a regular basis. He therefore had himself switched to the degrading job of cleaning latrines and toilets several times a day, each and every day. This difficult, backbreaking job could sink any man's spirits, especially someone of superior intelligence. Yet, to Pollard, it represents a victory, as it reduces the possibility of violating Shabbos, and allows him the solitude to daven [pray] (as he does every day), and carry on Jewish living to the best of his ability under those circumstances.

His adherence to kashrus (his second promise) has not come without a huge price tag. Subsisting on canned tuna and sardines for so many years has caused his body to have a dangerously high mercury level that has resulted in a severe blood pressure problem, a heart condition, and a host of other maladies that have brought his health to a very precarious state. Not only are there no complaints, but he also views this as another small victory against his detractors.

His third promise is the most difficult one. For a man who has suffered so much for more than two decades, and is totally ignored by the country that he attempted to help, to remain steadfast in his emuna [faith in Gd] and bitachon [reliance upon Gd] is truly a heroic feat of epic proportions.

He explained how he does so with three different deep and heartfelt thoughts, expressed in different parts of our four-hour conversation. At first he said, "I promised myself at the beginning of this nightmare that I would come out the same way I came in." Then he added, "I love my land, Eretz Yisroel, and I love my wife more than my enemies hate me."

Finally, toward the end of our conversation, he made the following bold explanation: "I don't represent myself. I represent all Jews. Our enemies are watching me to see if they can break me. For that alone I must remain strong. I must stay strong in my emuna and bitachon to show the world what Klal Yisroel [the overarching meta-soul of the Jewish people] is all about."

.... If Israel had resolutely stood by Pollard, then the aspersions cast on Washington's Jews would be far more circumspect than they are today and the US would have seen that Israel is an ally to be reckoned with, not a doormat to be stepped on at will. Pessah is the holiday of freedom. But for a nation to be free it must take responsibility for its actions, no matter how grave those consequences may be. In shirking its responsibility a nation is doing more than casting out the unwanted weight. It is casting off its own ties to freedom. Pollard said, "The abandonment of a nation begins with the abandonment of an individual."

If we wish to maintain our integrity as a free people, we can do so only by taking on the task of bringing Pollard home. He may be a hero and he may be a fool. However he is viewed, he is one of us and he has been discriminated against and persecuted because he helped Israel. And other Jews are being persecuted because we refused to defend him. It is time for us to take responsibility for Pollard because his imprisonment paves the road to our servitude.

I couldn't believe it (last week?) when I heard the New & Improved Unity Palestinian Authority saying things like the U.S. wouldn't have to deal with Hamas, we could just talk to Abu Mazen. Never mind that he would be, and now actually is, part of a governing body run by Hamas. As if we would simply close our eyes to the part we don't like, the part where the overwhelming majority of the PA seeks Israel's destruction.

I can't believe they think anyone (outside of France and Russia) would be gullible enough to fall for their so obviously dishonest ploys, and furthermore, I can't believe they have the AUDACITY to publicly explain to us how it might work. The US and other foreign governments would give Abu Mazen the money and pretend that he wasn't really giving it to Hamas to kill Israelis. Yeah, right.

Well they're doing it again. You may remember that Salam Fayyad was once in charge of making the PA's finances sufficiently "transparent" to maintain the confidence of international donors, after everyone realized that Arafat had absconded with millions of dollars meant for the poor/suffering/palestinians. The U.S. and other donor countries liked this idea of transparency - and Fayyad himself ("a U.S.-educated moderate") - but at some point he quit, I don't remember when or why.

Well now Fayyad's back, and the MeccaPacters expect the world community to be enthralled and confident once again, at least enough so as to resume forking over the cash. With Fayyad back in the PA, surely the world will start pouring money into the terror-tories again, because Gd knows the poorpalestinians can't manage a real-world economy in which people have to produce something and actually go to jobs every day. (Who would throw rocks at Israeli soldiers and launch the daily kassams?)

Anyway, in this al Reuters article by Wafa Amr, about how Salam Fayyad has taken a position in the N&IU/PA - for the sake of Unity, of course - they unabashedly announce a new twist on their old habit... of cheating.

The Hamas-Fatah pact, which had a vague pledge to "respect" past peace deals with Israel, helped calm factional tensions but has yet to change the Authority's treatment by the West, which has said it will judge the new government by its actions.

That means that Fayyad, though favoured by the Bush administration, may be shunned by the United States and Israel.

Palestine Monetary Authority chief George Abed said Fayyad might manage to circumvent the embargo by using his second title -- head of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation's Economic Affairs Department -- for financial dealings abroad.

Oh, did I not mention it? The position Fayyad recently accepted - which I assume would be his first title - is that of Finance Minister. al Reuters shortens this to the cuter "FinMin" as in their headline, Palestinian FinMin "soldiers on"

The Euopean Union and the militant Hamas organization appeared responsive Friday to a plan by French President Jacques Chirac to bypass a freeze on funds to the Hamas-led Palestinian government that would provide salaries the 165,000 Palestinian Authority employees still waiting for March's wages.

Chirac called earlier Friday for the creation of a World Bank fund to pay the salaries of Palestinian officials, his office said after he met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Paris.

"Any means that will maintain the authority of the government and the preservation of money and at the same time help the Palestinian people we will study and think about thoroughly," said Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official.

And since I've been so terribly harsh in this post, let me try to be more "fair and balanced" by going back and picking up a Valentine's Day special that I missed at the time. via al Reuters, certainement:

GAZA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Love was in the air -- or at least online -- in Gaza this Valentine's Day after weeks of Palestinian factional warfare.

The day brought frowns from some Islamic clerics, but many young men visited Internet cafes to profess their feelings electronically to girlfriends, many of whom live outside the religiously conservative Gaza Strip.

"We have to amuse ourselves a bit. We have to break barriers by celebrating Valentine's Day or the Day of Love," said a Palestinian university student who gave his name only as Hadi.

He emailed a picture of a heart to his girlfriend in Morocco.

Sharif Abu Mussalam's girlfriend in France was sent a love poem, typed in the shape of a heart.

And lastly, for those for whom poorpalestinian valentines have no appeal, I offer this Deeper Look into the New & Improved Iranian presence in Gaza.

Looks like a good blog. I want to check out their Featured Videos, but haven't had a chance yet.

Though press reports said a “settler was found stabbed to death near the Arab village of Beit Omar,” Levanon was in fact just a couple hundred yards from his home when two teenage Arabs sneaked up behind him as he was deep in prayer, slashing his throat and stomach with knives.

By now, anyone concerned enough about Israel to look beyond what the mainstream international press is reporting knows that on Sunday, two knife-wielding “Palestinian” teenagers ambushed and brutally murdered a Jewish man while he was praying in a forest near his home in Judea.

Can anyone imagine what would happen if two Jewish settler teens stalked, ambushed and hacked to death a “Palestinian” Muslim on his prayer carpet?

Dave over at Israellycool correctly notes that, at the very least, the international press would have bothered to report on the murder if the roles were reversed.

But I dare-say the international response and outrage would not stop there, not even close.

No, if Jews had committed such an act (if they were even capable of committing such an act) the flood of newspaper articles, editorials and scandalous television network reports would merely be the beginning.

From there we would have very outspoken condemnation by world leaders, most likely leading one or another (or perhaps many) UN committees to convene in special session to publicly blast the Israelis and their mistreatment of the Palestinian Arabs.

All of that, of course, would result in renewed and intensified political pressure for Israel to more hastily acquiesce to demands that it surrender additional land to the “Palestinians.”

"Keren Erez" - the Erez Levanon Fund
.... [Yaakov Kalati] has already established a fund for the widow and orphans, which for the time being is known as "Keren Erez". So, in answer to all of the wonderful people that are inquiring about donating, please contact Yaakov by email, at: yaakov(at)kalcom.com, and he'll tell you the best and easiest way to donate, with no administration costs and 100% of your donation money to the widow and orphans.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------UPDATE: Somehow I came across this conspicuously compassionate article that quotes "advocate for children and youth in armed conflict" Jane Lowicki:

“The worst abuses against children are those that happen during war,” said Lowicki.... “The number of children who would ever do anything violent on their own is relatively small.”

It's almost to be expected at this point that no one cares about beautiful Jews cut down in the prime of their lives, leaving beautiful young Jewish children without parents, but it's mind-boggling to me that no one cares to save palestinian children from becoming Jew-killers.

You have to wonder what that's about...

especially when Ishmael Beah's book about having been a child-soldier in Sierra Leone is about to overtake Obama's memoirs in the No. 1 slot on the New York Times Bestseller List.

"The unbelievable violence and dread, the blood and death, seem — if this does not appear too awful an oxymoron — somehow guileless and innocent, random, unpremeditated."

Got in himmel! ~ G-d in heaven! (said in anguish, despair, fear or frustration) ~ how hideous it all is.

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing at least 14 people and wounding a dozen more. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

"What a different world we would be living in today if they had succeeded."

"Dr Evil escapes again...damn."

Not all on the far Left would support Cheney's murder in a terrorist suicide bombing, however. One conspicuously compassionate commenter at Daily Kos wants him to "rot in jail not die in a way that could in any way be construed as bravery, honor or decency."

Malkin quotes Charles Johnson of LGF:

"This kind of sick, twisted thinking is everywhere in the 'progressive' blogosphere...And it’s even sicker than it appears at first glance, because many of these freaks want to see Cheney dead so that he can’t become president if someone assassinates President Bush."

If the Left doesn't get a grip on their hatred, and soon, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see another civil war in this country.Gd forbid.

New York Herald Tribune ... reporters in the field [1860's] courtesy of NARA

"This government is doing more than any other government to deal with the Iranian nuclear issue. Even if we will have to face the Iranian threat alone, we will be able to," Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman ... told members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday.

The House of Commons voted 159-124 not to renew the provisions -- which expire on March 1 -- on the grounds that they had never been used.

One provision allows police to arrest people suspected of planning an imminent terrorist attack and hold them for three days without charge. The other provides for investigative hearings in which a judge can compel witnesses to testify about alleged terrorist activities.

The measures were introduced by the then-Liberal government after the September 11, 2001, suicide attacks on the United States. In a bid to allay fears over human rights, Ottawa agreed the provisions would expire after five years.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Quebec Soccer Federation will allow Muslim women to wear head scarves on the pitch if the Canadian Soccer Association clarifies its current rules, a federation spokesman said on Tuesday.

On Sunday, a young Muslim girl was sent off the field by a referee during a soccer tournament in Laval, Quebec, because she was wearing the hijab.

Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, confirmed for the [Senate Armed Services] committee that weapons training for Iraqi militia members is being provided in Iran as well as in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) called the Iranian training "a very serious act and one that we ought to consider taking steps to stop in defense of our soldiers."